Weather across the nation for Tuesday

A strong low pressure system lumbered over eastward over the lower Mississippi Valley today, pulling in warm, muggy air from the Gulf of Mexico and kicking off widespread heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Severe thunderstorms developed across several states, as watch notices were issued for Alabama, eastern Tennessee and eastern Kentucky. Flash flood watches were also issued across the region due to heavy rain associated with these thunderstorms.

Jennings, Louisiana, reported a midday total of 3.77 inches of rain, while Natchez, Mississippi, reported a midday total of 1.75 inches. Scattered showers also pushed across the upper Midwest, the Ohio Valley, parts of the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, while an onshore flow from the Atlantic triggered thunderstorms over Florida. Miami reported a midday total of 1.88 inches of rain.

Meanwhile, a cold front stretched from northern Nevada to North Dakota. Isolated showers and thunderstorms developed over parts of the Intermountain West and the northern Plains. And a ridge of high pressure kept conditions clear across the West Coast, as temperatures ranged between the 90s and 100s across the Desert Southwest. Gila Bend, Arizona, recorded a midday high of 104 degrees, while Blythe, California had a midday high of 100 degrees.